Arm rest for surgical tables



E. R. WEICKGENANNT 2,972,505

ARM REST FOR SURGICAL TABLES Feb. 21, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledSeptEIG, 1

IN V EN TOR. EGON R. WE/GKGENANNT mm mm mm (4 Y ATTORNEYS 1961 E. R.WEICKGENANNT 2,972,505

ARM REST FOR SURGICAL TABLES Filed Sept. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENT0R. EGON R. WE/OKGENANNT A TTOENEYS ARM REST FOR SURGICAL TABLESEgon R. Weickgenannt, Rochester, N.Y., assignor to Ritter Company, Inc.,Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 16, 1959, Ser.No. 840,351

8 Claims. (Cl. 311-) My invention relates to apparatus which can beattached to tables and more particularly to an arm board assembly forattachment to a surgical table.

tes Patent The invention will be described primarily as an arm boardassembly to be attached to a surgical table, but with possibleadaptations and modifications the same may be used in conjunction withany table, or, for example, a bed upon which there are brackets forattaching the assembly of this invention.

An object of my invention is to provide a detachable arm rest which canbe attached to a bracket on a surgical table and pivoted in an arc in ahorizontal plane about a vertical axis on a pivot, said pivot being partof the arm rest and capable of being releasably locked in any desiredposition of said are of swing.

Another object of my invention is to provide a fiat surface which may beused as a table for any of a multitude of purposes, said invention maybe attached bymeans of a bracket to any other movable or stationaryobject and rotated in an arc of, for example, 180 degrees about a pivotmeans which has a releasable locking mechanism by which the said flatsurface can be locked in any ,desired position of said are of movement.i

Another object of my invention is to provide an arm past which has aninboard end where there is a bracket upon which the said arm rest isattached and at which end there is a pivot means which may be releasablylocked in any given desired position into which the said arm rest may berotated on said pivot, said releasable locking means including a releaselever beneath the arm rest extending from the said pivot means towardthe outboard end or the end where the circumference'ot the arc ofrotation of the release lever is the greatest distance so that anindividual standing at said outboard end may, by means of the saidlever, release the said pivot means and rotate the said arm rest intoany desired position and lock the same in that desired position with aminimum of effort or difliculty.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be particularly setforth in the claims and will'be apparent from the following description,when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: i

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my invention shown in connection or usewith a surgical table, the dotted line outlines of the arm board servingto indicate thatthe arm board may be rotated in a horizontal plane; 7

Fig. 2 is a view of a portion of Fig. l but somewhat enlarged showingthe arm board per se and serving to illustrate that the invention hasother uses than with a surgical table;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of my invention showing the arm rest inconnection with the means for attaching it to a table or other object,the exterior of the pivotal means for rotating the arm rest and theleverfor releasably locking the arm rest in any desired position withinan arc of 180 degrees; a

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of a surgical table to view of myinvention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on lin 55 of Fig. 2 inthe direction indicated by the arrows;

and

Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the arm rest showing thepivot means for rotating the said arm rest, the means for attaching thesame to a table or other object and the releasable locking means whichis assembled with relation to the pivot means.

Referring to Fig. 2, an arm rest or arm board 10 is attached to asupport, generally indicated by the numeral 22, by four bolts 33'.Support 22, an adapter 14 for the arm board and other parts, more fullydescribed hereinafter with reference to Fig. 6, serve as the pivot meansby which the arm rest or arm board 10 may be rotated; A safety catch 15is attached to the adapter 14 by means of two pins 34. The safety catch15 in combination with the adapter 14 is the means for locking the armboard assembly to a bracket 17 (see Fig. 3) attached to a. surgicaltable. The bracket 17 extends longitudinally of the table on both sidesthereof so that upon releasing the safety catch 15, the arm board may beremoved and positioned along the table as desired.

An arm 13 for the arm board lock lever is welded 'to a handle 11 andwelded to a cylindrical ring 18 -(see Fig. 3), the combination servingas an arm board lock lever and the means by which an individual standingat the outboard end of the arm board or arm rest 10 may release alocking means to be described to enable the arm board or arm rest 10 tobe swung in an arc of 180 degrees in a horizontal plane. The locked andunlocked positions of the arm and handle are shown respectively at 13and 11 (Fig. 2) and at 13 and 11. As the said arm 13 and handle 11 arerotated to the left by an individual standing at the outboard end of thearm rest looking toward the inboard end, the locking means is releasedso that the arm board 10 is free to be rotated at the inboard end of thearm board.

A spacer 16, U-shaped in cross-sectlon (Fig. 5), made of nylon or anysuitable materialwhich will not mar or scratch'other metals or materialson which it may rub,

straddles the arm 13. The spacer 16 is afiixed to the arm 13 by a screwor bolt (not shown). This spacer slides on a retainer 12 bolted to thearm board 10 by means of two'bolts 35. The position 16' (Fig. 2)

, merely shows the spacer when the arm-13' is located in an unlockedposition.

Welded or soldered to the safety catch 15' is a stop 20. The stop 20 iswelded to the outboard edge of the safety catch 15 at the position shownin Fig. 3 so that it touches the adapter 14 when the safety catch 15 isin a locked position. .Referring now to Fig. 6, the safety catch 15 isshown in a released position by the dotted lines designated 15'. I

The arm board support '22 comprises three preferably integral parts; thetop support 'plate 38 to which the arm board is bolted; a taperedcylindrical or conical part 23; and a threaded bottom part 24. Theconical part 23 of the support 22 is fitted in and mates with areversely tapered insert washer or wear plate 25. The exterior wall ofthe insert washer is cylindrical and is enclosed by the walls of anopening 26 formed in the adapter 14. A screw 27 is threaded into athreaded opening. which is common to the insert washer 25 and theadapter 14. Thus the adapter and the insert washer or wear plate 25 maybe treated as integral. An annular spring or wave washer 28 isinterposed between the top support plate and the insert washer 25 andforces the support 22 in an upward direction and awayfrom the adapter 14and the insert. washer 25 when the locking means is released byactuating the lever arm 13 as will presently appear. It will now beunderstood that the tightening of the conical part 23 of the support 22against the inverse tapering wall of the insert washer 25 createsfriction between these parts which locks the arm board in any desiredposition within the arc of rotation.

7 As previously mentioned, the threaded bottom part 24 is an integralunit with the other portions of the support 22. The threaded bottom part24 fits into a nut 21 the exterior of which is cylindrical and fitsinside of the cylindrical ring 18. The nut 21 is locked with respect tothe cylindrical ring 18 by, in this case, three set screws 29. A coverplate 19 is fastened to the ring 18 by means of two screws 30. There isa small space 36 between the threaded bottom part 24 of the support 22and the trim or cover plate 19 which space is adequate to allow thethreaded bottom part 24 of the support 22 to thread downward into thenut 21 as the lever arm 13 is turned -to the right. This downwardthreading creates the friction between the conical parts 23 and 25.

A washer or wall plate 31 is made of steel or any suitable material andrests on needle bearings 32. The needle bearings 32 are fitted into thenut 21 and ride'between a wall of the nut and the wall plate 31. Theneedle bearings 32 allow the arm board to roll in the arc of rotationwhen the conical locking members 23 and 25 are in an unlocked position.The cylindrical ring 18, the cover plate 19 and nut 21, which are allscrewed together into one unit, rotate with the arm 13 which, aspreviously mentioned, is welded to the cylindrical ring 18. When the arm13 is rotated to the right by a person standing at the outboard end ofthe arm rest 10, the unit, comprising the ring 18, cover plate 19 andnut 21, is threaded upward on the threaded part 24 of the support 22causing the tapered cylindrical part 23 of the support 22 to tighten andlock against the inversely tapered wall of the insert washer 25; thusthe arm board 10 may be locked into any desired position within an arcof rotation of 180 degrees in a horizontal plane.

The amount of friction created between the locking members 23 and 25relative to the movement of the arm 13 may be varied by an adjustment ofthe nut 21 when the said locking members 23 and 25 are in an unlockedposition. This adjustment of the friction is accomplished by looseningthe three set screws 29 and threading the nut 21 up on the bottomthreaded portion 24 of the support 22 in order to increase the frictioncreated between the locking members 23 and 25 when said locking membersare in a locked position, and threading the nut 21 downward on thesupport 22 will decrease said friction.

After the desired adjustment is made, the three set screws 28 aretightened against the nut 21.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the arm board of myinvention is adapted for use with a surgical table, a bed or other fixedor movable object; is capable of being locked in any desired position ofadjustment; and is capable of quickand easy adjustment to any desiredposition so that a patient lying on a bed or table may have his arm onthe table and the surgeon can adjust the position of the arm'to suit theconvenience of the patient or to enable surgical operations to beperformed thereon. The lock may be conveniently adjusted to allow forwear and all the parts thereof are hidden from view but still are inconvenient location for a nurse or other attendant who may be assistingthe surgeon.

It is apparent that various modifications, changes and adaptations inthe invention may be made herein, particularly with regard to the formand relation of the parts and the materials of which they areconstituted without departing from the spirit of my invention as setforth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An arm rest adapted to be attached to the side of a surgical tablefor supporting the arm of a patient re: clining on the table comprising,in combination, an arm rest, a bracket attached to the table by whichsaid arm rest is carried, pivot means between said arm rest and saidbracket enabling the arm rest to be swung in an are about said pivot andlocking means connected to said pivot and mounted to be pivoted withsaid arm rest for releasably locking the arm rest in any desiredposition of said are.

2. An arm rest in accordance with claim 1 in which the arm board has aninboard end adjacent which said pivot means is located and an outboardend, said releasable locking means including a release lever extendingbeneath the arm rest from said pivot means toward said outboard end,said release lever being pivotally mounted to said arm rest in a mannerlimiting the relative movement between said arm rest and said lever.

3. An arm rest in accordance with claim 1 in which the table has a siderail and the bracket has a member adapted to fit over said side rail andbe releasably attached thereto.

4. An arm rest in accordance with claim 1 in which the table has a siderail substantially rectangular in crosssection and said bracket has amember partly rectangular in cross-section adapted to fit over said railto support the arm rest, said bracket having a pivoted latch adapted toswing automatically by gravity into latching relation with the underside of said side rail.

5. An arm rest adapted to be attached to the side of a surgical tablefor supporting the arm of a patient reclining on the table comprising,in combination, an arm rest having an inboard end and an outboard end, abracket attached to the table by which said arm rest is carried, pivotmeans between said arm rest and said bracket adjacent the inboard end ofthe arm rest, said pivot means comprising a pair of tapered relativelyrotatable looking members, one of said members having a threaded end, anut applicable to said threaded end, and means for rotating said nut toapply pressure between said tapered locking members.

6. An arm rest in accordance with claim 5 in which the means forrotating the nut comprises a lever extending beneath the arm rest fromthe inboard end of the arm rest toward the outboard end thereof wherebythe locking members may be released or locked by an attendarrt standingat a distance from the table adjacent the outboard end of the arm rest.

7. An arm rest in accordance with claim '5 in which means are providedfor adjusting the resistance to retation of said arm rest about saidpivot means when said locking members are released.

8. An arm rest adapted to be attached to the side of a surgical tablefor supporting the arm of a patient reclining on the table comprising,in combination, an arm rest having an inboard end, a bracket attached tosaid table for supporting said arm rest, pivot means between saidbracket and said arm rest at substantially said inboard end of said armrest for enabling said arm rest to be swung in an are about said pivot,a retainer memb-er mounted on said arm rest and locking means connectedto said pivot means for releasably locking said arm rest in any desiredposition of said are including a lever slidably mounted in said retainermember to be moved with said arm rest when pivoted, said retainer memberlimiting the relative sliding movement between said arm rest and saidlever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS541,863 Loomis July 2, 1895 884,361 Broga Apr. 14, 1908 2,459,033 KrausIan. ll, 1949 2,642,250 Kasnovich June 16, 1953

